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Friday, March 1, 2013

The Not So Silent Lions

We get sent a lot of music to listen to here at Hip In Detroit, and most of it really is pretty good, but once in awhile there is just that band that you immediately love. Usually it's pretty easy for us to determine which one of us will like a band over the other two. However, this time I think it was a little more difficult, but I snatched them up!

Almost a year ago we ventured down to Hamtramck for the Metro Times Blowout and got to see and interview lots of bands. One of those bands were The Sights. Well, if you go back and watch that hilarious, drunken interview, you'll see the one sober voice, Dean Tartaglia (Mind Fish). Dean recently sent us his newest project, Silent Lions, to listen to and I immediately liked it and honestly have been listening to it constantly. It's only 4 songs and I want more!

Silent Lions is a 2-piece made up of Dean (octave bass, effects, synth, sax and singing) and drummer/singer Matt Klein (Bikini Babes, GOLD). Their sound is very heavy on the effects and they describe themselves as 'spooky soul', but there are a couple songs that sound like they have a bit of The Sights' influence. These guys really have a sound all their own, though. You know what's crazy? There is no guitar, just bass. Maybe that's more obvious to other people, but it surprised me a bit.

Anyone that reads the band's biography can tell that they are very passionate about this project, as they should be. And you can tell by listening to it, too. The first album, The Parliaments, was released this past December and has 4 songs. Each one is great, which is rare for me to say, but I think I might like "Pop Rocks" the best. That could just be because it's also the name of a candy, though.

Even though Dean plays with The Sights in Detroit, the Silent Lions are from nearby Toledo. However, they recorded this album with Zach Shipps (Electric Six) in Detroit. What Dean said says it pretty well, "I wanted to make sure these songs were completed in the city where the stories originated; a city of character, similar to my own."

Everyone should be listening to this band, which you can do here. So start doing that and let's get Silent Lions back in our neck of the woods so I can see them live! They will be putting out a music video soon that I eagerly await as well as releasing the album on vinyl later this month. So keep an eye on these guys. I think big things are ahead.